Representatives of 200 governments have gathered in Cali, in southwest Colombia, along with tens of thousands of participants, to attend the Conference of the Parties (COP16) on biodiversity that opened on 21 October. A country and a city marked by glaring contradictions in terms of respect for Creation, is hosting one of the last remaining attempts to protect the planet’s irreplaceable cultural heritage. In fact, Colombia is an unparalleled repository of biodiversity. According to the latest data, it has the second-highest level of biodiversity in the world. In fact, Colombia is the only country in South America encompassing all the continents’ biologically diverse natural environments. Its territory includes the Andes and the Amazon rainforest, the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, the desert, the great savannah and the vast grasslands, the islands of the Caribbean and the long rivers. But Colombia is also, and by far, the world’s deadliest country for environmental defenders, with 73 environmentalists killed in 2023, accounting for 40 percent of all such killings on the planet. Illegal mining, drug trafficking, monoculture farming and deforestation are the issues these activists are fighting against. This is the first time South America has hosted a global conference on the environment, ahead of next year’s climate conference in Belém, Brazil. COP16 is taking place in a city that is emblematic of Colombia’s violence, which is precisely why in the country it is seen it as a great opportunity. COP16 inspires hope, expressed both by the Church and, more generally, by civil society and popular movements. The Colombian Church is attending COP16 in large numbers in the Green Zone, which is open to the public. The programme includes conferences, forums, congresses, exhibitions and documentary screenings, organised in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Cali, the Episcopal Conference of Colombia, the Episcopal Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAM) and the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM). A delegation from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development will also attend the conference in Cali, along with the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr. Paolo Rudelli.
The Church’s commitment. The Colombian Church has been consistently committed to the promotion of care for Creation, especially in recent years, following the encyclical Laudato si’. Monsignor Juan Carlos Barreto, President of the Secretariat for Social Pastoral Care of the Colombian Episcopal Conference (CEC) and Bishop of Soacha, told SIR: “In preparation for COP16, a meeting was held in the Amazon region followed by a conference in Bogotá, promoted by a number of organisations, including the CEC and the Episcopal Conference of Latin America (CELAM).” He added: “Our contribution is based on our perspective of faith and on our ethical commitment. At the same time, we intend to enter into dialogue with experts, scientists and representatives of non-Catholic religions.” While COP 16 is a great opportunity, the challenge, the bishop said, is to “promote a change in lifestyle, ensure targeted education and spread awareness in communities, in local areas. The Catholic Church in Colombia plans to create ecological communities in parishes, associations, seminaries, universities and schools. In addition, Integral Ecology Commissions will be set up at the different ecclesial levels”. Given this perspective, it must be clear that defending the environment in Colombia is a dangerous task: “The natural environment and the people are exposed to many threats. It is our duty to help the communities, to make their voices heard. We know that armed groups are the first to attack this biodiversity, because of their vested interests. In the face of these challenges, we must be united as Colombians”. The Archbishop of Cali, Monsignor Luis Fernando Rodríguez Velásquez, remarked in a release: “COP16 must not be an isolated event that ends on 1 November.” In particular, the archbishop called for “more pastoral initiatives to promote, among other things, care for the environment and the protection of biodiversity.”
A Protocol for the protection of environmental defenders. The voice of the “grassroots Catholic community” resonates loudly in Cali. Juan Felipe Martínez, Executive Secretary of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), told SIR: “We have come here for a long-term project, our commitment will certainly not end with COP 16. As REPAM, we want to be heard at the international level”. And above all, “we want to make a contribution with a view to an integral ecology. It must be understood that attacking biodiversity entails attacking people who are thus forcibly displaced, victims of violence and human rights violations. The ‘buen vivir’ of the communities is closely connected to the care of creation.” The result is a pragmatic proposal that is being put forward at this very moment: “Environmental leaders are in danger. That is why a comprehensive Protocol for their protection is urgently needed, in Colombia and elsewhere. Just consider the recent killing in Honduras of Juan López, a pastoral worker and well-known defender of human rights and the environment.” Leonardo Peláez, a member of the Secretariat for Social Pastoral, is attending the conference in Cali: “The COP16 Green Zone is bustling with activity, with many events. We want to contribute to the good outcome of the conference. The previous editions have not produced positive results, but that is no reason to give up. Expectations are high, especially for the communities most affected by the threats to biodiversity. There are many local stakeholders who want to share their knowledge and learn from each other. We saw this at the pre-COP 16 conferences in the city of Florencia, in the Amazon and in Bogotá.”
Threats from armed groups. These days, however, Cali has turned into an armoured city. “There is widespread concern about the serious threats made by guerrilla leader Ivan Mordisco, head of the FARC dissidents who rejected the 2016 peace deal and threatened violent attacks during the COP16 summit”, says Cristiano Morsolin, a human rights expert. President Gustavo Petro’s government has launched a major military operation in recent weeks with 1,400 special forces, armoured vehicles and helicopters in the Micay Canyon, the main coca-growing area of the Cauca department, which had hitherto been abandoned by the state”. In advance of COP16, 500 NGOs and various community organisations presented the report “The Road to Change: Progress and Setbacks for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy”, covering the second year in office of leftist President Petro. The report “highlights the slow pace of change in the fight against poverty and inequality in Colombia,” says Morsolin. The same report argues for bolder reforms and changes. But now more than ever, there is a real risk that the carnage will resume once the conference is over.
